A Night of Prosecco and Cicchetti with the Prosecco Queen

Prosecco and Italian street Food; a match made in heaven! The World Loves Melbourne was invited to an epic event where Mel Brauer the Prosecco Queen showcased a range of Proseccos with pairing of Italian Street Food by Paola from Italy on my Mind. The night revealed the joy of high quality Prosecco as well as it's versatility! Some think Prosecco is mainly a breakfast bubbly or an aperitif; but high quality Prosecco is extremely versatile for practically any meal!

Mel has travelled to Italy and tasted 100 Proseccos to come up with a choice range; available for purchase on her website! As she explained in her short talk, someone has to do it!

We understand that Mel imports the Proseccos refrigerated to ensure the highest quality! I'm a Prosecco enthusiast and it was Mel that originally put me on to the joys of Prosecco. But often I go to events where there's muted appreciation when mid range Prosecco is served; it was great at this event by the Prosecco Queen to taste standout Proseccos! These Proseccos were distinctive with noticeable nuances. We trust the Prosecco Queen's taste in Prosecco (and in anything foodie related).

A sold out event!

Our favourite Prosecco was the Col Del Lupo DOCG Col Fondo Prosecco - featuring the wild cloudy goodness of a Prosecco fermented in the bottle! This is one to impress your friends; especially for those enjoying the current trend of natural wines. The "Col Fondo" was matched with a Salumi platter and tigelle, as well as thinly sliced lardo and parmesan prosciutto.

Cloudy sexy Prosecco a must for your wine collection...

A selection of cicchetti and crostini with hard boiled egg and anchovy; pear, gorgonzola and aged balsamic; and sarde in sa'or (Venetian style sweet and sour sardines) were a huge hit matched with Tenuta 2 Catelli Prosecco Superiore DOCG BRUT.

Another highlight was the third Prosecco of the evening; a bright and vibrant Col Del Lupo Prosecco Superiore DOCG BRUT. If you like a dry Prosecco this is magical! Another perfect food pairing with a selection of warm street food; and polpettine di bar (fried crumbed meatballs); polpettine di melanzane (eggplant meatballs). The rustic meatball flavours combined perfectly with the zesty Prosecco.

The crowd went wild with a selection of skewers matched with Tenuta 2 Castelli Prosecco Superiore DOCG EXTRA DRY. The versatility of quality Prosecco was demonstrated as a perfect match with arroticini (grilled lamb skewer) and polpo alla griglia (grilled baby octopus)!

More was to come with delightful Crostoli (sugar fried pastry) with ColDel Lupo Prosecco Superiore DOCG EXTRA DRY. We'd just had an extra dry Prosecco with skewers and now with dessert! Such is quality Prosecco!

Dessert went into overdrive with Sorbetto di susine con amaraetto (plum sorbet with amaretto) matched with Col Del Lupo Prosecco Superiore DOCG DRY. This was one of the best desserts of the year matched with one of the Prosecco's of the year! Just sensational.

The event was held at the fabulous GG’s in East Melbourne overlooking the stunning Fitzroy Gardens, and Chef Paul Dunlop and his team were exceptional to whip up some beautiful Italian street food from Paola's own recipes for us to enjoy! GG's is the perfect destination for a quality dining experience in chic surroundings; and as a meal on the way to say the MCG!

Paola invested her own recipes and some from her family background; recipes dear to her heart! Paola's recipes were sourced from her best-selling cookbook (was for sale on the night) which signed for people, and Mel the Prosecco Queen also had wines for purchase on the night! Also making an appearance was a little display of ‘Wearing Memories’ wine jewellery - lockets that hold your favourite Prosecco or Champagne caps. Yes, Mel is so obsessed with Prosecco that she also wears it!

This was such a delicious line up with beautiful DOCG Proseccos, from a bone-dry zero sugar bottle-fermented ‘Col Fondo’ all the way to a gorgeous drop that goes perfectly with dessert! The match of premium Italian Prosecco and Italian Street Food was a triumph and this was a memorable event.

Mel has some exciting developments in the pipeline as the Prosecco Queen.